Mothering a young baby the 2nd time around -

- Is more relaxed because it's a been there done that kind of thing.

- Makes me more confident because I've learned to trust my instincts more than rely on what baby books says.

- Has made exclusive breastfeeding a success (though I know I prayed hard for it too).

- Has made me more accepting about the lack of sleep during the first year of the baby's life.

Challenges of having two children means there is less of me to go around. I get stressed from the amount of tasks I need to do for 3 people.

Zach has eczema on his face and parts of his body. Taking care of his skin will require a lot of my attention. I noticed that I almost have to moisturise every half hour on areas where there is likely a flare up and then have to remember to moisturise the rest of the areas at least once a day. He'd need more frequent baths too as the bath water would have bath oil that would moisturise his skin. I like Dermaveen baby bath oil at the moment. With moisturizers, I find that cetaphil moisturizing lotion is more effective at the moment because it's runnier compared to pawpaw ointment (which has the same consistency as petroleum jelly) or to aveeno baby cream for soothing relief of eczema. I also realise these treatments are going to be expensive. The price of the medicated cream prescribed by the doctor was a "wake up call" for me. When I try to add up the moisturisers and bath oil we had purchase, $10 or so here and another $10 or so there, they're going to add up and I'm sure I would be spending thousands of dollars on eczema treatment before he reaches the age when his eczema will disappear.